ISLE OF WIGHT, UK – Charismatic Canadian Jeremy Cornish signs up for another season on the island with the Wightlink Raiders and believes that his side can be contenders in 2012/13.
Summer on the Isle of Wight, just a mile or so off the South Coast of England is a pleasant place to be. The promenade that extends from the ice rink on the waterfront is crowded with families and kids enjoying the beach and the beautiful parks that make Ryde a favourite with holidaymakers.
Cornish on the island (Nicky Craft)
For Ontario native Jeremy Cornish the summer has been a busy one so far, with almost all of the squad for 2012/13 announced already. The Raiders Player Coach enters his fourth season on the island as the man in charge of on-ice matters, and when people think of Wightlink these days he is the first person that springs to the mind of most.
“I am really happy coaching on the island, this summer I got signed up really quick before I even looked into anything else” admitted the 6’ 2” winger.
“Steve Price and Geoff Underwood are very good guys to work for and I would have to get a very good offer in order for me to leave”
A league title win in 2010/11 remains the stand-out moment in Cornish’s coaching resume thus far, but he is still driven to bring long term foundations to a club that often battles against the odds thanks to their unique location.
Happy times
“I think the motivation is knowing that we have to build a team each year, we don’t have the luxury of having a large amount of local players at our disposal” explained the former Basingstoke, London and Newcastle star.
“We easily have the toughest job in the league bringing in players and I think that’s what drives us to build a strong team each year”
In comparison with fellow Canadian and team mate Joe Rand, the former Elite League enforcer’s thirteen goals and sixteen assists didn’t stack up too well in 2011/12, however given that Rand finished second top scorer in the league and was also voted Player of the Year in the annual Pro Hockey News awards, it was perhaps understandable.
“I feel fine physically, last year I didn’t have the best of seasons point wise, I think the large suspension hurt my form a bit” conceded Cornish.
“I’ve already started skating and I’ve been working out as well, so this season I should be ready to go”
Along with a core of returnees including key players such as Damon Larter, Richard Facey and Nathan Taylor, Cornish has made some smart trades bringing in highly rated young defenseman Nick Compton from Swindon, goal scorers Robbie Brown and Craig Tribe from Peterborough and Basingstoke respectively, not to mention agitator Corey Watkins from Invicta Dynamos.
“Recruiting is always challenging, but it seems to be getting better each year” explained Cornish, who also managed to snap up star goalie Matt Colclough from Basingstoke.
“We can offer a good place to play for young players looking to move up or players just looking to play for a club that is run as close to professional as you can get at this level”
photo by Nicky Craft
“I can also help players on after they have had a good season with us. I’ve got lots of connections in the EPL and Elite league and I have never been afraid of helping players onto the next level”
Indeed the star performances from last season’s import Joe Rand caught the eye of Basingstoke and Cornish lost his top scorer as the EPL came calling this summer. The loss of Rand’s goals coupled with the departure of key defenseman Dom Hopkins led to some Raiders fans questioning the direction of the team.
“Ya, the loss of Dom was a big blow” admitted Cornish.
“We have brought in some scoring to help offset what he provided last year. We wish Dom the best of luck and he was a good team mate and leader while he was with us”
“I feel Joe’s are the biggest skates to fill, he was our number one guy last year and we depended on him too much at times. I feel we have strengthened enough in other areas to make up for the loss of those two, so I hope we will be fine”
With four of the new signings coming from the league above and all with good hockey CV’s, Wightlink do appear to have a stronger squad this season. Whether the Raiders squad will be strong enough to compete with last season’s top two sides; Romford Raiders and Chelmsford Chieftains remains to be seen.
Brown is back
“It’s always going to be tough to compete with those two teams, they are blessed to have so many local players that are loyal to their club and both teams have a very strong budget to make sure they are around the top of the league each year” explained the 32 year old Cornish.
“I feel we can compete with those teams, but for a team to win the league, you have to get a run of good luck as well, similar to what we did two years ago”
“I’m currently looking for an import; I just don’t want to rush things. There are many players looking for work and with the current economic climate there aren’t as many teams as there have been in years past”
“We got lucky with Joe late last summer and I have a feeling we should wait a while and see what comes up”
So with his team all set up ready for the season, and pre-season training not far off the horizon, Cornish has good reason to be positive about the future.
“The club gets stronger every year on and off the ice, even though last year wasn’t our best, we still added a couple key guys to our core, and our fan base was consistently strong” added the recently confirmed British Citizen.
“I think that’s what brings me back for my fourth year, the team is still evolving and I’m excited about the direction we are heading”
With only a couple of months left of the summer it won’t be long before the good people of the Isle of Wight switch their bucket’s and spades for their replica hockey jerseys and the NIHL starts up again.
One thing is for certain though; no team is going to look forward to their trip to the island this season, and not just because of the occasional rough seas.
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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